Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

1@MessyChurchBRF

Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

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#discipleship: individualAs Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.

When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.Mark 1:16-20 (NIV)

Imagine that you are arriving at your workplace one morning, turning on your computer, looking for your favourite coffee cup on your desk, picking up your current ‘to-do’ list and about to take the lift up to your first meeting of the day. A typical start to each working day. But this time, in the lift, you hear God’s voice calling you – not just calling your name but telling you to drop everything. Not just your coffee cup but your whole family. Not just your ‘to-do’ list but your whole lifestyle.

Jesus didn’t cut a deal or make a series of offers to the four fishermen; he just gave an invitation. The impact of that invitation meant the fishermen left behind their livelihoods, responsibilities and families. They were all ordinary and busy people, just like you and me. They dropped everything, there and then, to follow Jesus.

Jesus may or may not be calling us to such a complete change of lifestyle, but the life of a disciple is one of continuously being open to Jesus, to hearing his call and being ready to drop anything that stands between us and Jesus.

One meaning of ‘Follow me’ is ‘commit to me’. Many people want the opposite of commitment: losing weight without healthy eating; more money in their purses without working or investments. But God chooses the busy and the active to follow him. Are we listening to God in our daily routines? Are we looking for the easy road or are we committed to following, loving and obeying God on the journey he gives us?

#discipleship: teamMessy health checkHas your Messy Church been called to do God’s action in your community?

Messy team theme• Is God calling you to serve in his name?• You are unique and special to God. Do you believe he

may call you to follow him in a new way?• Have you ever been called by God?

How does this session help people grow in Christ?God calls us at any time. If we are prepared to listen, that is preparation enough. If your ‘to-do’ list features certain aspects of life that you hope God will call you to working in, you may be disappointed. Be open to God’s choice, timing and call. Trust in God and his guidance. Be prepared to drop everything.

#discipleship: familiesMealtime card• Are you good at listening?• When does God call and speak to us?• What preparation do we need in case God calls us?

Take-home ideaTalk as a family about one thing you can drop for a month to help you all follow Jesus more closely. Help each other to do it.

Question to start and end the sessionSo… how might God call us to follow him?

#discipleship: extraPlay ‘Jesus says’ – similar to ‘Simon says’ but no one is ‘out’. Play for fun and confidence. Invite different people of all ages to lead. You can also play ‘Follow the Leader’, where everyone follows you around the room/space, copying the same actions as the leader. Invite different people of all ages to lead.

Social actionFollow Jesus’ example of compassion for other people. Invite everyone to drop off one item your local food bank needs.

Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

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ActivitiesIf you want even more ideas for activities, take a look at the Drop Everything Pinterest board: pinterest.co.uk/MessyChurchBRF/drop-everything.

1. Edible fishYou will need: rice cakes; knives; chocolate spread; butter; banana chopped into semicircles; blueberries

(One and a quarter rice cakes makes one fish.) Cut some rice cakes into quarters. Cut the pointy end off a quarter rice cake and stick it to the edge of a whole rice cake using chocolate spread, to make a fish shape. Cover the top of the fish with chocolate spread and decorate using semicircles of banana with a blueberry for the eyes.

Talk about how Jesus told the four fishermen to follow him. They left behind their families and their jobs, which is where a lot of their food would have come from (fish), as soon as he called them. They were busy mending their fishing nets when Jesus passed by. How quickly do you respond when someone calls you?

2. Feeling calledYou will need: letter tiles; a board

Use the tiles to create some interlocking words, on the board, to describe how you would feel if God called you today.

Talk about how you would feel if God called you to drop everything? What would you find the hardest to leave behind? Who would be the first person you would want to share with about being called by God?

3. Minute to win itYou will need: a selection of unbreakable household and personal items (see below); a timer

How many items can you hold at once? Invite someone to ‘dress’ you with as many items as possible in one minute. Examples: washing powder, apron, saucepan, packets of pasta, pencil case, dog lead, large sponge, towel, hat, coat,

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Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

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scarf, gloves, book, newspaper. How much are you holding when the timer finishes? Now drop everything!

Talk about how you feel when you drop something before the time is up. Is this different from when you drop everything at the end? Which feeling do you think is most like what the disciples felt when they dropped everything to follow Jesus? God could call you during any of your daytime routines.

4. Marbulous feetYou will need: shaving foam; acrylic paints or food colouring (multiple colours); card foot shapes; large dishes/trays; stirrers/sticks/straws; squeegee

Spray shaving foam to cover a tray or dish. Squirt a selection of paints on to the shaving foam. (Any paint works but acrylic paints dry faster.) Using a stirrer, stick or straw, swirl the paints, moving from side to side, to create patterns.

Lay the card foot shape on top of the shaving foam and press lightly and evenly. Peel off and place on a tray with the shaving foam side upright. Wait for ten seconds, then in one strong swipe remove all of the shaving foam with the squeegee, pressing firmly against the card.

Talk about something that makes you you. Each one of these foot shapes is different and unique. We are all unique to God and each disciple that Jesus chose was different from the other. Jesus wants all of these differences for his team of disciples. God wants us to walk with him just as we are. He created us as unique and special individuals and loves each one of us.

5. Are you ready? You will need: a strong magnet; paperclips

Put the paper clips in piles on a table. Encourage people to put their hands on top of the paperclips and then lift their hand up. What happens? Put a magnet on top of the paperclips and lift that up. Has something different happened? What about if you put your hand on top of the paper clips and then the magnet on top of that? (You may want to remove your watch first and keep phones out of the way.)

Talk about how a disciple is a pupil, apprentice or follower of a teacher. To be disciples of Jesus, we need to make the decision to follow him. Things can try and get in the way, like

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Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

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your hand getting between the magnet and the paperclips, but as the paperclips are still drawn towards the magnet, we can still follow Jesus. God’s call can be a strong one, like the pull of a strong magnet. Are you ready for his call?

6. Follow me origamiYou will need: square pieces of coloured paper; pens

Ask people to be obedient and copy everything you do step by step to make an origami fish. (Instructions can be found here: origamiway.com/easy-origami-fish.shtml.)

When your fish is complete, add an eye and a fin. On the other side, write the names of who you want to bring to God on to the fish so that they may be called to follow him too. Pray over each name.

Talk about the way you can learn a skill is by following instructions and by watching and listening to someone who’s better at it than you. Maybe now you can show someone else how to make a fish! Becoming a disciple of Jesus means following his example. Jesus showed that praying (talking to God) was important ¬ he did it a lot. Praying is one way we can follow his example. Obedience is another way. The four fishermen were obedient before Jesus performed his miracle with the great catch of fish. They were obedient again when he invited them to follow him. Can you think of anything Jesus told his disciples to do that you find easy? Or hard?

7. Go and tell megaphoneYou will need: A4 sheets of coloured paper or card; dinner plate; pencils; scissors; glue sticks or sticky tape; stickers

Draw around the plate on the paper and cut out the circle. Cut the circle in half and share the other semicircle with someone else. Roll the semicircle to make a cone shape and secure with tape or glue. Decorate your megaphone with stickers. Take the megaphone to the celebration time later on.

Talk about how Jesus called his first disciples to teach, train and encourage to go and tell everyone about God’s love for them. When did you last tell someone that God loved them?

8. Into the boatYou will need: kitchen foil; coins; paddling pool or bowl; water

Create a boat out of foil. Will it float? Try it out in the paddling pool or bowl of water. How many disciples (coins) can it carry at the same time before sinking? Try piles of ten pennies at one time. Or drop a penny at a time. Experiment!

Talk about how Jesus wants us all to get in the boat with him. We need to trust God. What makes a good boat? What makes it float? Jesus was a carpenter and would appreciate the workmanship of a wooden boat. Would we take a risk and take the boat into deep water, or play it safe and stay by the shore?

9. Disciple trailYou will need: letters to make up the phrase ‘fish for people’ numbered 1–13 in order; sticky tack; answer sheets (see template); pencils

Stick the letters up around your activities area – not too high, so that all ages can find them. Follow the trail and find the letters to complete what Jesus said to his first disciples.

Talk about who you already follow or look up to. What is it about these people that makes you want to follow or look up to them? Are they always there for you? God is always with us and he wants us to share that good news with everyone.

10. Trust meYou will need: blindfold; simple obstacle course e.g. chairs to walk round or a line taped to the floor to walk along

This is a pair activity. One person is blindfolded and has to trust the other person to give them instructions to get to the finish line.

Talk about how it feels not to be able to see and to have to trust the other person to get you through it. Do you think this is easier if you know the other person? Becoming a disciple is learning through faith to trust and follow Jesus one step at a time.

Reprinted with permission from The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2019

Drop everything

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CelebrationYou will need: megaphones from activity 7; Bible verse Mark 1:16–20 printed out for yourself; flip chart and stand or whiteboard; pens

Invite six people (of any gender) from your Messy Church congregation to volunteer at the front. You will need: Jesus, Simon, Andrew, James, John and Zebedee. Invite anyone who would like to draw on the flip chart to also come out to the front or side.

Read the Bible passage, slowly, and invite the volunteers to act or mime the story as you do so. Then invite the ‘artist’ to respond in any way, using the pens, and to draw a reflection of what they have heard. Share this at the end.

Ask ‘Zebedee’ how he feels being left in the boat as his sons walk off with Jesus.

Ask ‘Simon’, ‘Andrew’, ‘James’ and ‘John’ how they feel as they have been called by Jesus.

Ask the congregation: If you had to flee your home in an emergency, what one thing would you grab in an instant and take with you? It is a scary thought and I hope it never happens to you. We would be leaving so many things behind! If you had left your bank card and money, who would lend you some money? If you had left without a change of underwear, where would you find some? If you had left with no food, who would feed you?

In this story, we hear how Jesus called his first disciples. How many disciples did Jesus find for his full team? Well, the first four disciples were fishermen, ordinary people with ordinary jobs. Every day they would take out their boats on the lake, cast their nets, catch fish, take the fish back to shore, clean the fish, sell their fish and mend their nets. Every day. It was their livelihood, their means of food and for their families too.

Jesus was passing by and saw Simon and Andrew, then James and John, mending their fishing nets, and he said, ‘Come, follow me and I will send you out to fish for people.’ Did they ask Jesus to repeat his words? No! Did they run and choose one thing that they would take with them? No! Did they say goodbye to their families and friends? No! They dropped everything and followed Jesus. Just like that! They were obedient to his call.

So why did Jesus want disciples?

Can you and I become disciples?

What do disciples do?

Raise your megaphones to your mouths and shout, ‘Go and tell!’

What does Jesus want us to go and tell?

Raise your megaphones to your mouths and shout, ‘Jesus loves you! Jesus loves you!’

Who can you go and tell?

Share what the ‘artist’ has drawn.

PrayerDear Lord, we thank you that you want us all to follow you, even if we don’t think we’re good enough. Help us to drop things that get in the way of the best life that you want for us. Help us to go and tell someone that you love them. Thank you for loving us. Amen

Song suggestions‘Jesus is the King’‘True north’ – Rend Collective‘As we go now’ – Fischy Music

Meal suggestionFish fingers, potato wedges, jelly and ice cream with wafer ‘sails’.

Rural Mission Sunday 2019: Live the LifeSunday 14 July

Rural Mission Sunday is an opportunity to celebrate the life of the rural church and the real difference rural Christians can and do make in their communities. This year we are thinking about what it means to live out our faith in everyday life.

If you’d like to know more about Rural Mission Sunday and how you can get involved, go to germinate.net/rural-mission-sunday-2019 or email rms@germinate.net.